


The Best Thing

by aworldoffandoms



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Romantic Fluff, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29155074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aworldoffandoms/pseuds/aworldoffandoms
Summary: Ethan says hurtful words to Nicolette and he finds that she's more affected than he thought. He wants to apologise but will she accept?
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart), Sienna Trinh & Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 10





	The Best Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts in bold.

Ethan grumbles, his forehead creasing in his frustration as his fingers pinch the bridge of his nose. He tries to contain his annoyance but he can’t help some of it slip into his tone. 

“You deliberately disobeyed me. I said wait until we had the results but you went ahead and diagnosed him anyway.” 

Nicolette stares at him dumbfounded, her eyes flashing with anger at his tone. She stalks to him, pointing an accusing finger at him sitting behind his desk. “I made an executive decision and I believe it was the right course of action. I may not be Boston's most famous diagnostician like you but I am a goddamn good doctor and I’m not going to apologise for that. Reprimand me all you want, Ethan, **hate me all you want. I know I’m right.** I am not going to cower to your intimidation tactic for doing my job. I’m a part of this team whether you like it or not.”

Ethan’s exasperation and frustration finally overwhelm him and he snaps, slamming his hand against the mahogany desk, the knick-knacks scattered around in front of him let out a sharp jiggle that makes Nicolette jump. 

“Enough!” 

Nicolette’s anger fizzles out at his shout and she almost takes a step back in shock because he’s never raised his voice to her, not for a long time anyway, but her hands clench in stubborn silence. Ethan is her boss, yes, but it still didn’t give him the right to undermine her decision. 

“But Ethan—” 

“No. Don’t. I’ve had enough of your insubordination to last a lifetime, Nicolette. You’ll go back to our patient and apologise for jumping the gun with this diagnosis. We don’t want another situation like two years ago.” 

Nicolette’s heart hammers in her chest at the subtle mention of Mrs Martinez but a sliver of pain stings her chest because it was the lowest Ethan could go. He knew how much Theresa’s death affected her and he just uses it against her like that? 

Nicolette growls, anger engulfs her and she has to hold back angry tears. Ethan’s expression softens when he sees her eyes are glassy but the damage is already done. He wants to take back the words but he knows he can’t.

“I can’t believe you’d stoop so low, Ethan. Bringing up Mrs Martinez like that? Way to bring up my failures. You’re such an asshole.” 

Nicolette turns on her heels and stalks out, not looking back once and leaving Ethan behind, his heart dropping with guilt.

***

It’s no surprise that Nicolette isn’t around when Ethan gets home, his condo cold and quiet, the gentle hum of the refrigerator the only sound to permeate the air. 

Ethan sighs as he runs a hand through his hair, reaching into the top cabinet above the kitchen range hood and plucks out his five-year scotch. This one wasn’t the best scotch he has, however, it’d do the job in getting rid of the knots in his stomach and the all-around guilt he’s held on to since he yelled at Nicolette and watched her storm out of his office. 

One thing was for sure he definitely was an asshole. Maybe he shouldn’t have yelled at her the way he did but… there was just something about going behind his back and diagnosing a patient so recklessly like that that irks at him, his anger rising like a slow-building wave before it crashes against the shore. 

He takes a sip of his scotch, lounging on the couch and staring out at the Boston skyline and seeing no joy in it. His heart drops and his face scrunches up in self-loathing. 

Why did he have to yell at Nic like that? He loves her. He supports her in any decision she makes. She is the reason he smiles, she is the reason there is a point going to Edenbrook, she is the reason he has a future. His heart beats against his ribs painfully, as if a knife had been lodged in there and someone was twisting the knife. 

“I’m such a goddamn idiot.” 

Ethan doesn’t know how long he sits there for, wallowing in his own pity and guilt when the ping of his phone pulls him out of his thoughts and he glances down and plucks his phone and reads the message once he unlocks it. 

Get to the apartment now. Nicolette needs you. 

Ethan almost drops his scotch to the floor when he reads the message from Sienna but he immediately jumps from his perch on the couch, dashes to his keys and heads to Nicolette’s apartment, the only thought on his mind was getting to her.

***

Ethan resists the urge to pound on the door once he arrives at his girlfriend's apartment she shared with her roommates but instead he raps on the door a few times and seconds later, it opens to reveal Sienna, concern on her face but as soon as she sees Ethan, relief fills her eyes and she steps back to let him in. 

“Oh, thank god you’re here, Ethan. I can’t get her to stop and I’m afraid she’s going to hurt herself.” 

Panic seizes his heart for a moment at the thought of Nicolette being in danger but it eases when he sees her swaying in the middle of their living room, a bottle of vodka in hand and some sad sounding song that made Ethan cringe. He wants to go over to her and crush him to her chest but he stands back to gauge how she is. 

Nicolette’s words slurred as she sang the words of a song that Ethan, unfortunately, knew well. “And II--eeee--IIII will always love youuuuuuuu!” 

Sienna shakes her head at the sight of Nicolette singing at the top of her lungs to the Whitney Houston song and goes over to her, shutting off the sound system and snatching the bottle of alcohol from her grasp. 

Nicolette swings around, her clothes dishevelled and her hair is sticking to her forehead from the sweat. Ethan gathers she might have been doing this for a while. 

“Hey! What did...yyyyou do that for?” 

Sienna just gives her a look and places the bottle on the coffee table. “I did it for your own good, Nicolette. You were going to either dance until you passed out or fall to your untimely death because you thought it was a good idea to act out the scene of Jack and Rose on the Titanic by yourself.” 

Nicolette gives her best friend a pout. “It’s my favourite scene. Not my fault no-one wanted to do it with me.” 

Ethan stares at Nicolette and it comes to his attention that he’s never seen her like this before. He’s seen her drink with her friends at Donahue’s, yes, but he’s never seen her this inebriated. She couldn’t stand in one place before stumbling over herself. 

Ethan glances at Sienna and he finds her gaze already on him, her eyes widened in a very sure sign of ‘get the hell over here and help her’. Ethan answers and paces over to Nicolette, a hand coming to gently wrap around her waist and the other to hold her forearm so she can brace herself against him. 

Nicolette’s head whips around at the touch and her eyes light up in seeing him and Ethan’s heart almost breaks at the raw happiness he sees there. He’s such an asshole. “Ethaann! You’re here! When did you come? You don’t live here.” 

Ethan gives her a gentle smile and directs them both to Nicolette’s room and she willingly goes with him, her steps slow and fumbling as she trips over her own feet. 

“I’m taking you to your room so you can sleep.” 

“But I don’t wanna!” 

Ethan almost grimaces at her tone, sounding more like a child than a grown woman but he lets it slide. She’s drunk after all and most people aren’t in control when they are drunk. 

“You have work in the morning, sweetheart, and we don’t want you to have a headache. Best to rest now so you can be refreshed in the morning, right?” 

Nicolette is quiet as she contemplates his words, her brain a fog due to the alcohol coursing through her system but eventually she gives Ethan a nod and allows him to take her the rest of the way and deposit her on the bed gently. 

Ethan undresses her and once she’s into her pajamas he lays two aspirins on the bedside table and a glass of water as he had a feeling that she’d need them sooner rather than later. 

Nicolette snuggles into her covers and Ethan’s heart gives a warm jolt at the innocence of the action, brushing the hair out of her eyes as he leans down to kiss her forehead. 

“Goodnight, Nicolette.” 

“Hmm...goodnight, Ethan.” 

Ethan smiles as Nicolette’s eyes close and he waits until her chest evens out before sitting in the chair in the corner of her room and deposits himself there, watching her as she sleeps soundly until his own eyes drift shut.

*** 

“Ugh. My head.”

Nicolette’s head is pounding like a nail when she wakes up, the light from the blinds assault her sensitive eyes and she hisses away from the onslaught of light.

“You’re finally awake.” 

A squeak escapes her as she whirls around to find Ethan sitting on her grey loveseat, eyes bleary with sleep, hair tantalizingly mussed, the faint smell of his cologne assaults her nostrils. 

“What the hell are you doing here?!” 

Her voice is loud in her room and she winces, her palm coming up to rest against her still pounding head. 

“Ow. Remind me never again to drink that much.” 

There is an answering chuckle and she squints her eyes open and the rush of events that happened yesterday hits her and she scowls. “What are you chuckling about? I thought you didn’t want to listen to my ‘insubordination’.” 

“Ah. You still remember that, huh?” 

Nicolette raises her eyebrows. “Of course. Who wouldn’t remember their boyfriend yelling at them and then proceeding to use their failures to hurt them?” 

Ethan winces at the hurt in her tone and he sighs, running a hand over his tired face and gives her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry Nicolette. I didn’t mean to say those things. I was just frustrated and—”  
  
Nicolette’s nostrils flare and she sits up straighter, ignoring the painful jab in her head and her stomach rolling around dangerously. “Don’t use that as an excuse, Ethan. I know, deep down, that you think that I’ll always be that stupid, iditoic intern that killed her patient.” 

Ethan’s heart stutters and his eyes widen at her words. She was telling the truth. She believes what she’s saying and he almost scoffs in disgust at it. That was beyond false. He’s never thought of her as stupid or iditoic and never once thought she’d killed Teresa.

Without further thought, he steps up out of her chair and takes a seat on the bed, his body close to hers, and despite her anger towards him, Nicolette allows his fingers to trace down her face until they hook underneath her chin and lift her gaze to meet his. 

Nicolette’s heart thuds in her chest at the soft look in his eyes, the warmth and the emotion spilling out into the lines of his face. There is a small, fond smile and his other hand gently runs up and down on her cheek, the touch making her shiver. 

The room is quiet until Ethan speaks, his words soft against the harsh pounding in her head. She doesn’t move a muscle as Ethan stares at her, tracing her features like a man starving, committing every bit of her features to memory.

“On the contrary, Nicolette, I find you are the smartest person, most genuine person I have ever met. You are one of the brightest doctors I have seen in my eleven-year career.” 

Ethan can see in her expression that she disagrees and she verbalises it with her next words. “Oh, please. You are only saying that to get on my good side again.” 

“I’m not,” He pauses to shuffle closer, both hands coming up to cup her cheeks, her green eyes spear him with their vulnerability and he swears that he falls in love just a little bit more in that moment. “I want to apologise for what I said. It was utterly wrong of me to do that. You are not a failure. You are a brilliant doctor. **You are more than you think of yourself, Nicolette. You’re everything to me.”**

Nicolette’s breath stops at his words and her heart does a flip against her ribs. 

_Shit. Am I still drunk?_

“What did you say?” 

Ethan gives her a gentle smile, his blue eyes shining with affection for the woman in front of him, hair mussed and mascara smudged, green eyes bloodshot. He leans forward and presses their foreheads together. 

“I said you are everything to me, Nicolette. **You’re the best thing that has, and ever will, happen to me.** ”

A small sob escapes Nicolette’s throat and her eyes sting against her closed lids as she lets Ethan’s words sink in. The remaining anger and hurt that she felt melts away as Ethan presses a kiss against her forehead. 

“I’m sorry, Nic.” 

Nicolette shakes her head, sitting up on her knees and wraps her arms around Ethan’s neck as she cries into his shoulder. 

“Thank you, Ethan.” 

Ethan tightens his hold around her waist, breathing in her scent. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.” 

Nicolette laughs, letting go of him to give him a quick peck on the lips and then shifts away from him as she plants her feet on the floor. She starts to gather her clothes for her shift and stops at the door and turns around to Ethan, a happy glow to her cheeks. 

“Ethan?” 

“Yes?” 

“You mean everything to me too.” 

They both share a smile before Nicolette slips out the door to head to the bathroom and Ethan sits back against her bed, thinking how lucky he was to have Nicolette in his life. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You can find this fic on my Tumblr (which you'll find the link in my profile description). 
> 
> Any comments or kudos are so greatly appreciated! 🥰


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